The Joy of Children's Literature

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-- Publishers Weekly, 4/27/2009 Hook by Ed Young. Roaring Brook/Porter, $17.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-59643-363-2 Caldecott Medal–winner Young's enchanting story about an orphaned bald eagle discovered by a Native American boy is set against a vast landscape of canyon, mountain and spruce, as spare as the author's text (“An abandoned egg. A young boy”). The raptor (“a strange chick”) is hatched and raised by the boy's hen, who calls him Hook after his curved yellow beak. She quickly perceives his true nature—“You are not meant for earth,” she tells him. Young's pastels, a series of sketches on speckled burnt sienna paper, glow with life. The judicious use of detail is highly effective, and the birds possess an uncanny accuracy. Hook can't work out how to fly, so under a blackened predawn sky the boy takes him to the canyon. The mountains, stained blue in the dawn, look on as Hook is launched from the canyon precipice. Against a shimmering mountain blur, the young eagle p

CHICAGO — The Poetry Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of Children’s Poet Laureate Presents , a video podcast series featuring the nation’s Children’s Poet Laureate, Mary Ann Hoberman, reading from her own work and from classic children’s poetry collections. Holding a book in her lap, Hoberman addresses the camera as she reads, creating a close and friendly connection with children and parents in an atmosphere similar to that of story time at a library. “Inspired by some of the terrific literary video series out there for kids, Children’s Poet Laureate Presents brings Mary Ann, and her delightful reading style, into homes and classrooms, and encourages children to read more poetry,” said Anne Halsey, media director for the Poetry Foundation. “The videos are in no way meant to substitute for the invaluable act of a parent or librarian reading to children, but rather are intended to allow as many children as possible to get to know Mary Ann as their Poet Laureate.” The first t

These resources from Annenburg Media will really add to your resources for poetry month. Immerse yourself and your students in the hour-long documentaries of " Voices & Visions ." Featured poets include Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath, and William Carlos Williams. Several programs are scheduled to air on the Channel in April; click on "Broadcast Dates" for details. Or select a poet of your choice and view the program using Video on Demand. Our literary analysis series " Literary Visions " includes seven programs about different aspects of poetry. Consider the historical relevance of American poetry in "American Passages: A Literary Survey," Program 10, " Rhythms in Poetry ," and Program 15, " Poetry of Liberation ." Help young adolescents explore feelings and learn the power of written expression while developing as writers and readers of poetry. Two master teachers demonstrate strategies in "Teaching Poe

-- Publishers Weekly , 4/13/2009 All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg. Scholastic Press, $16.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-545-08092-7 Using spare free verse, first-time novelist Burg (Pirate Pickle and the White Balloon) beautifully evokes the emotions of a Vietnamese adoptee as he struggles to come to terms with his past. Although he loves his American parents and new little brother, Matt misses the family he left behind two years ago, in 1975, when he was airlifted out of Vietnam. He feels guilty for leaving behind his toddler brother, who was mutilated by a bomb, and yearns for his birth mother, who pushed him “through screaming madness/ and choking dust” into the arms of soldiers. (“My parents say they love me./ He says/ I'll always be his MVP./ She says./ I'm safe, I'm home./ But what about my mother in Vietnam?”) Matt's baseball coach and Vietnam vet piano teacher help ease his pain, but it is the patience and unconditional love of his new parents, gently emerging throug

HarperCollins Children's Books has a neat feature on their website: Author podcasts ! Right now, Tim Green is featured. In the podcast, he talks about his book Baseball Great . Previous featured authors include Jerry Spinelli, Lemony Snicket, Katherine Hannigan, Peter Abrahams, Neil Gaiman, Sarah Prineas, Gail Carson Levine, Nancy Yi Fan, and more . While you're there, check out the other features on the HarperCollins site. You can sign up for a newsletter and to read soon-to-be released books before they are released . There is lots of information on HarperCollins authors, games and contests and a bookfinder , too.

From Stenhouse : In her new book, Notebook Connections , Aimee Buckner shows you how a reader's notebook can be used as a tool to generate and elaborate on responses to text, and she provides strategies that students can rely on—from book to book, from genre to genre—to push their writing beyond retelling the story. Like Notebook Know-How , Aimee's previous book on the writer's notebook, Notebook Connections presents a model that's flexible enough for students to respond in a variety of ways, yet structured enough to provide explicit instruction. More than a dozen teacher-guided lessons help students create anchor texts within their notebooks. Then as children become more independent, they begin to respond in their notebooks, choosing strategies that work best for them. Aimee shows how the reader's notebook can serve as a bridge between reading and writing, and provides a holistic approach to assessment—with specific rubrics—that involves students and doesn't u

The E.B. White Read Aloud Award , established in 2004 by the Assoication of Booksellers for Children , honors a book that reflects the universal read aloud standards that were created by the work of the author E.B White in his classic books for children: Charlotte's Web , Stuart Little , and The Trumpet of the Swan . ABC members chose books for distinction based on their universal appeal as a "terrific" book to read aloud. The E. B. White Read Aloud Award is given in two categories, one for picture books, and the other for older readers. The 2009 shortlist of four books in each category was announced Monday: PICTURE BOOKS A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo, ill. by Harry Bliss One by Kathryn Otoshi Too Many Toys by David Shannon BOOKS FOR OLDER READERS The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas Masterpiece by Elise Broach, illustrated by Kelly Murphy The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry Zorg

I'm a big fan of "seeing" authors/illustrators read and discuss their work. Webcasts, podcasts, and audio books are a few virtual ways to do this, but it's often hard to find these resources on the web. However, the Guide to Poetry and Literature Webcasts provides one-stop shopping. From the website: Guide to Poetry & Literature Webcasts is a resource for locating webcasts of poets, fiction writers, and critics as they read and discuss their own and each other's work. The Guide includes links to Library of Congress sites and general sites that archive literature-related webcasts, as well as links to streaming video of academic conferences, lectures, and discussions; group poetry readings; and literary award ceremonies. Webcasts on general topics, such as children's books, performance poetry, and visual poetry also are included, and an offline reading section allows viewers to identify print resources that complement the resources found through the Guide.

Deborah Wiles is featured on the program All Things Considered on NPR along with an excerpt from the first chapter of The Aurora County All-Stars . Children's book author Deborah Wiles isn't afraid to write about life's most serious issues. Her popular books deal with friendship and the joys of childhood — but they also grapple with intolerance, death, rejection and the difficulty of having to do what's right instead of what's easy. "What I do is write about what matters to me," Wiles explains to Michele Norris. "Everything I write comes from my childhood and my life — I basically write for 10-year-old me." Wiles' most recent book, The Aurora County All-Stars, follows a group of little boys who play baseball (read an excerpt ). In Each Little Bird That Sings, for which she was nominated for a National Book Award, the author wrote about a 10-year-old girl whose family owns the local funeral home in a small town in Mississippi. Wiles says that

From Publisher's Weekly, 4/6/09 Gentlemen by Michael Northrop Scholastic Press, $16.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-545-09749-9 Northrop's debut is one dark ride, as events spin out of control for three friends who haven't had many lucky breaks. High school sophomores Micheal (the narrator), Tommy, Mixer and Bones are a pretty tight crew. (And, yes, that's how Micheal's name is spelled: “Mom or Dad, one of them dropped the ball on that one, probably Dad, in the hospital or wherever it is you fill out that paperwork.”) Then Tommy goes missing. It isn't the first time, so the guys aren't initially too worried, but as time passes—and following increasingly unsettling interactions with their English teacher, Mr. Haberman, during a unit on Crime and Punishment—they begin to suspect that the teacher is involved in Tommy's disappearance. Micheal, who has an eye injury stemming from a childhood incident, is a sympathetic but unreliable narrator—something he himself recogn

From the Curriculum Matters blog : I'd like to alert any educators involved in the teaching of reading to a chat at edweek.org scheduled for next week with Donalyn Miller , a 6th grade language arts and social studies teacher. She's also the author of The Book Whisperer , which was recently published by Education Week Press and Jossey-Bass. The chat will take place on Tuesday, April 7, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. I'm sure my elementary school teachers helped expand my reading vocabulary and comprehension, but I cannot give them credit for inspiring me to love reading. I remember that in 1st grade, my classmates and I read dry stories from early readers aloud in turns, going around the room in order, and we weren't supposed to read ahead, even if a classmate took FOREVER to stumble and mumble through a few sentences. It's my mother who nurtured my "inner reader" by regularly taking me to the public library as far back as I can remember and before

Where The Wild Things Are Trailer What do you think?